"The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande

Gawande is a surgeon whose failures led him to devise an aeroplane-pilot-style checklist approach to operations. He claims that this reduces failure and complications hugely and significantly.


He suggests that "Know-how and sophistication have increased remarkably across almost all our realms of endeavor, and as a result so has our struggle to deliver on them." (p11) This is because the systems delivering have become too complex for individuals to master. This causes deep customer dissatisfaction. "Failures of ignorance we can forgive. .... But if the knowledge exists and is not applied correctly, it is difficult not to be infuriated." (p 11) This is the point at which failure becomes negligence.


Gawande offers examples from his own world, surgery, and from the worlds of aviation, construction, and finance to suggest that checklists help people to "improve their outcomes with no increase in skill" (p168). Checklists can't improve best performance but they can help you avoid some stupid mistakes; they therefore improve the baseline and thus improve the average.

Checklists are ideal when complex procedures are made from many simple steps. Checklists are particularly good in situations where teams of people have to work together for the outcome because checklists improve inter-personal communication. Builders even use checklists to make sure everyone has been consulted whenever there is a change from plan.

Gawande clearly believes that checklists also improve communication by flattening hierarchies and giving the least important team member the right to challenge the team leader.

But checklists must be very carefully designed if they are to be effective.

• Every item on a checklist must be non-ambiguous.
• Some checklists are proactive and should be read out before performance, others are retroactive and should be a check after performance.
• One's procedure needs to incorporate one or more 'pause points'. Each pause point contains a single checklist.
• Checklists should be physical; ideally the whole team should agree that each item can be checked. This emphasises the communication function of a checklist.
• Each checklist should take no more than sixty seconds. This means that you cannot include everything. Items that have little leverage (operating theatre fires as opposed to post-operative infections) should be left off the checklist.

Can checklists be successful in the arcane mystery that is persuading pupils to learn? There are differences between operating theatres and classrooms. In surgery a team of people work on a single individual whereas in a classroom a single professional teaches many. So on that basis there seems to be large differences. But looking at a school more holistically we could argue that we need (and often use) checklists in education. For example, can we be sure that every pupil in year 11 who needs a particular intervention to improve their reading/ spelling/ numeracy/ chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE has been given that intervention? We can justify limiting our interventions because of resources but what if we just forgot that Joe Bloggs Junior needed a test for dyslexia? Would that not be negligence? And is this not something that a checklist could catch?

There are advocates of checklists in education. The UK government behaviour adviser Charlie Taylor recommends using a checklist for behaviour management and cites 'The Checklist Manifesto'. His checklists for behaviour (one checklist for headteachers and one for teachers) are published by the UK Department for Education here. 


However, Taylor's checklists are not classic checklists in the Gawande mould; they are fairly long, are not structured into pause points and some of the items are not perfectly clear. The checklist for encouraging positive behaviour in the classroom published by Friern Barnet School is perhaps more user friendly. Here is an extract:

Start of Lessons

• Be on time and prepared

• Greet students by name at the door and oversee the corridor near the door

• Instruct students to line up sensibly and to go straight to the seats in the seating plan

• Have an activity already on the board

• Take the register in silence and deal with latecomers later on

• Give praise for good conduct/starting the lesson on a positive note/welcome any new students or those who have returned from a long absence

• Aim to have students on task straight away

During Lessons

• Present the big picture – link the learning with previous and future lessons

• Explain clearly what the lessons aims, outcomes and activities are

• Instruct students to have their planners open on their desks

• Ensure there are a variety of activities, resources and learning styles catered for

• Set targets for outcomes, ensuring appropriate/differentiation/keep standards bhigh for everyone

• Use descriptive praise and encouragement – try to say something positive to everyone

• Reward good behaviour and work with commendations

• Remind students of rules/admonish them in private

• Be mobile around the classroom and ensure you can see everyone

• Ensure that homework is set and clearly written down before the end of the lesson

End of Lessons

• Plan sufficient time for a plenary summarising/assessing learning

• Comment on the overall lesson identifying achievements and or individuals

• Ensure clearing up is carried out by all

• Dismiss students in groups, see them out of the door and say goodbye to all

I particularly like Friern Barnet's advice about preparing quality lessons: "Above all, we should always ask about every lesson we teach: Is this lesson worth behaving for?"